Christmas Activities for Toddlers

Are you getting in the Christmas spirit? I can’t wait! Christmas activities for toddlers don’t have to be complicated or expensive. If you are looking for great toddler activities for your Christmas party or toddler classroom I have a bunch of great ideas for you. I teach at a Lutheran preschool so we do all kinds of Christmas activities, I’ve compiled some of my favorite nativity activities, Christmas crafts for toddlers, and early learning activities with a Christmas spin all in one place.

If you are looking for a thematic unit check out our Gingerbread Friends Mini-Unit with over 30 pages of great preschool ideas, free choice play, and lesson plans.

Cork Painted Wreath – kids love making this because the corks make a great sound when they are stamped on the paper plates.

Paper Bag Gingerbread People – use up the paper bags from your last-minute holiday grocery trips with this Christmas craft.

Holiday Sound Tubes – this is a fun sensory activity to explore during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

These simple gingerbread symmetry puzzles can be used as a tray activity in a classroom or you can pop them in a bag and use them as a screen-free toddler activity on the go during the holidays.

Make your own wrapping paper with DUPLO!

Toddlers love playing with anything they perceive as being for adults, like tape. This candy-cane craft taps into that desire and better yet it works on fine motor skills.

I do this simple Christmas painting idea year after year in my classroom as a free choice art project. The q-tips offer a new way to paint and work on fine motor skills.

Vertical activities like this Sticky Easel Christmas Tree help to develop shoulder strength which is vital for their eventual handwriting development.

I played this nativity game with my own children at home as a way to teach them about the Christmas story but now use it in my preschool classroom to do the same.

This unbreakable ornament is another craft that started at my kitchen table with my children when they were toddlers and now I use this Christmas craft in my toddler classroom every year.